Beauty
Text by Avani Thakkar. Photography by Joshua Navalkar
If there’s one thing most Indian grandmothers have in common, it’s their secret beauty concoctions of turmeric, besan, rose water, yogurt and other kitchen ingredients that are carefully guarded and passed down like a treasured family recipe. Sandalwood, or chandan, regularly features in this list; in fact, it’s the star component in many of my own grandmother’s nuskas (formulas).
Sandiva is the home-grown beauty label giving this ingredient’s detoxifying and anti-inflammatory benefits the spotlight they deserve. Founded earlier this year, the Chennai-based brand belongs to the house of Gokul Santol – the country’s leading manufacturer of sandalwood talcum powder. Armed with decades of expertise in procuring and processing pure sandalwood (a notable achievement in India since it is a controlled…